Two days ago, VW insiders let slip that two concepts were coming to the Detroit Auto Show, one eco and the other sporty. We were a little disappointed today when we found out one of them is just a Passat with a different engine.
But hold on, this car has something cool to offer after all!
The Passat BlueMotion Concept might not look all that interesting, but it's basically a production-ready car. Volkswagen rarely uses 1.4-liter TSI with American cars, the one interesting exception being the Jetta Hybrid, which it in combination with a DSG gearbox and E-motor. The Passat concept doesn't have an extra motor to provide it with extra grunt, but its 1.4 TSI is brand new.
Belonging to the EA211 family, it's the first engine of its kind in America, as it brings Volkswagen's Active Cylinder Management (ACT) technology. Simply put, this cuts cylinders 2 and 3 when the unit isn't being strained. As a result, highway mileage is an impressive 42 mpg, a record figure for non-hybrids. European models like the Polo and Golf (and Audi A3, but VW doesn't mention that) have the same tech, which means that if demand is there, production could take place.
The Passat BlueMotion Concept also delivers 150 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque and with its DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission, it will faster than those numbers will lead you to you believe.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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